Living on Holland Grove Drive

We talk to Olga Grant from The Netherlands. Olga works as a  Group Fitness Instructor for the Ripple Club and …

About your Neighbourhood

What’s the name of your street? Holland Grove Drive.

What’s a common myth or misconception about your neighbourhood? That it’s closer to Holland Village than it actually is. (We often get confused with the HDB and food courts on Holland Drive, opposite Buona Vista MRT.)

Exact words you tell a taxi driver to get home? “Holland Grove Drive!” (There is also a Holland Grove Walk, Terrace and View, and also Holland Grove and Holland Drive!)

Closest MRT station? Dover MRT (green East West Line) – though some construction recently started that has closed off our shortcut, and we now have to walk an extra 900 metres to get to the station! It’s probably quicker to walk along the canal down to Buona Vista MRT now.

How long have you lived here?  We moved here in July 2021, from The Interlace condo. Friends of ours lived in the house, so I was somewhat familiar with it; they needed to break their lease, so it was convenient for both parties that we took over.

The landlord’s agent is amazing (we suspect she might be related to the owners) – we were able to get a complete overhaul of the kitchen counters and bathroom counters: we paid for it, and they used their handyman. The house is quite old (1950s- ‘60s) and all the doors were brown. We asked if they could all be painted white too, and now it looks like we live in a black-and-white. We’re so happy in our house and this neighbourhood!

Holland Grove Drive Highlights

When you walk out of your place, what’s the first thing you see?

Yellow painted pavements with butterflies! This area is known as The Butterfly Estate. I’ve not discovered why, but I think it has something to do with the verges being scenes of lots of greenery that attract butterflies.

What’s the closest store to your front door?

Meatman Butchery in Park Suites – we get all our meat from them and the staff are so friendly.

If your street was chosen for a remake of a film, which would it be?

Two years ago, I would’ve said a remake of Sean Connery’s Medicine Man, about saving the rainforest. At that time, a neighbour in Ghim Moh, Chin Tat, was doing his utmost best to save the 17-hectare Dover Forest from destruction for urban development. He organised walks and we encountered many beautiful indigenous trees, some dating from a century earlier when his great-great grandfather was one of the settlers in the Chua Village Kampong in Ulu Pandan, where the forest stood.

A famous female nature photographer from the UK, specialising in bioluminescent mushrooms, came to Singapore to photograph a hollowedout old durian tree (remnants of the initial settlers) that had been killed by an endangered vine – ficus virens. The ficus strangled the tree, allowing the growth of a rare mushroom that she flew half the world over to photograph. On a scarier side note, that tree was also home to hundreds of the indigenous Singapore blue tarantula, which we could see hiding in the hollows. Eeekkk!

Chin Tat and his volunteers unfortunately lost their battle, and we are now facing construction. I don’t want to know where the spiders have disappeared to…

While the kampung village is long gone, the 100-year-old village temple is still here (Tan Kong Tian temple), accompanied by one of three remaining wayang (opera houses). So I’d say a remake of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would work well here!

We’re sure your neighbours are great, but is there anything you wouldn’t mind a little less of?

Traffic! We’re very close to Henry Park School, and around 7am and 1pm the cars block the roads. I’m hoping more people adopt cycling on the nearby paths as the air pollution of stationary cars isn’t great when you’re trying to do work at home.

What’s the unofficial uniform of your street?

School uniforms! Along with Henry Park School, we’re near UWCSEA Dover and Dover Court International School. Mornings are a flurry of brown and blue uniforms heading in all directions.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen on your street?

A one-metre monitor lizard scaling my drainpipe. I didn’t even know they could climb! I took a video and sent it to our landlord’s agent and she couldn’t believe it either! She had their handyman install grates and fences around the drainpipes immediately.

I’ve also seen an otter scaling my fence, despite my two ferociously barking mini schnauzers behind it on the other side, and a civet cat balancing on the electric powerline behind my house.

We also have a local elderly man who rides his unicycle along Ulu Pandan canal every day: he is really good! But you have to get out of his way, or you could end up in the canal!

Things to do near Holland Grove Drive

What are your three favourite places to eat or drink in the neighbourhood? Timbre+ One North for live music and hawker food. We also love PepperCastle in Holland Village: amazing curry! Our teenage kids favour Carl’s Junior in Star Vista or the new Guzman & Gomez in Holland Village.

Best places to shop at in the neighbourhood?

With the opening of the new edition of Holland Village, hands down the M&S Food that opened up there – what a win!

For home items I go to Carousell and for fashion I go to thrift stores or One Soul Many Stories. I started buying preloved/thrifted from 2021 and I’m having such fun with it.

Our school, UWCSEA Dover, runs a second-hand uniform sale, so my kids are walking around in preloved kit. A neighbour, Jayne Street (who featured in Street Talk in January 2023), and I are part of The Clothing Loop Singapore (clothingloop.org), where we take bags of clothing that no longer spark joy for us and we distribute them between 14 other Dutch ladies. We started this among the Dutch community three years ago, and we now have international partakers too!

What are some fun or interesting things to do around Holland Grove Drive?

Walking or cycling the Ulu Pandan canal, we can loop onto the Green Corridor beyond Jelita Cold Storage and by Buona Vista and walk to 1932 Story café for ice cream across Bukit Timah Railway Station. If we feel brave, we’ll cut across the jungle through the Maju Forest Trail and end up at the Sunset Way Baker & Cook for a treat.

What’s one thing you’d never change?

The yellow butterfly paths. Even though the yellow paint gets super slippery after the rain, it’s so colourful to see in the ’hood!

How about one thing you would change?

More double yellow lines across the top of the road so people aren’t allowed to park there. Maybe I’d ask for a full-time LTA officer to write tickets to give to wrongdoers!

If the city gave you a million dollars to soup up your street, how would you use it? Buy up some of the old one-storey uninhabited bungalows to keep them in their current state, and plant lots of flowery trees for the butterflies to enjoy

Things to do in Singapore

What are your favourite Singapore spots for taking out-of-town guests? Either the Silent Disco held on top of MBS on the full moon Saturday of each month, or our own backyard, where my South African husband operates not one, not two, but three Weber barbecues (smoker, large kettle and gas) and braais up culinary treats every weekend. We also recently installed an above-ground small pool close to the barbecue area, so it’s now a fantastic entertainment area.

We also like to visit Black Tap for Crazy Shakes and go to ColBar for some amazing curry chicken or sweet-and-sour pork.

Near to us, Ghim Moh market does fabulous Economic Rice. Or we go to Lau Pa Sat, walking there from the end of Orchard Road through Fort Canning, via Clarke Quay.

When you’re in need of a dose of culture, where do you go? I like to jump on my bike and cycle from Ulu Pandan Canal and Alexandra Canal all the way to MBS and back. It’s like cycling through time every turn you take.

If you’re missing home, what do you do? Go to the Hollandse Club food store for Dutch treats (which are bad for my gut but good for the soul!). Sometimes I cycle or walk the Ulu Pandan Canal to Clementi or the Green Corridor for the railroad bridges. My dad was a train driver back in the Netherlands and he passed away in December 2020. I couldn’t fly back due to COVID. Whenever I see a railroad bridge or railroads, it brings me comfort.

Do you love your neighbourhood?

Share it with others – just email us at contribute@expatliving.sg with “Street Talk” in the subject line. Include your name and street, and we’ll be in touch.

This article on living on Holland Grove Drive first appeared in the July 2025 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase the latest issue or subscribe, so you never miss a copy!

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